Taking a minor who isn't yours. Do they ask to see notarised letter?

[livylotte]

Just that really.  DD is 18 and her friend is 17. They are both off to Zante together soon  😱 so if they survive that - a Med cruise on Oasis with us oldies is the least of both sets of parents worries.

 

Has anyone ever been asked for the parent's consent letter/or even been denied boarding because they don't have one?

 

We are uk cruisers, don't know if that makes any difference to how strict they are on this.

 

We should get one shouldn't we?

 

Edited April 30, 2019 by livylotte

[Clarea]

Yes, we've been asked. 

 

Take the letter.  Do you want to take the chance that they deny boarding to your daughter's friend?

[33tekfan]

Yes, take the letter. Also in the wording, include that you have authorization to make medical emergency decisions until such a time as the parents can be reached.

[livylotte]

I have found this form

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk/assets/pdf/family-travel/Notarised-Letter-Template-tcm16-8606.pdf

 

I'll get her parents to sign this. I'll have to ring RC to confirm this is acceptable  - a notary seems a bit ott for a 17 year old but if that is what is required it needs to be done. Absolutely want to make sure all the boxes are ticked before we go.

 

[FloridaMac]

52 minutes ago, livylotte said:

want to make sure all the boxes are ticked before we go

Yes indeed.  The risk is too great not to follow the "letter of the law".

[The_Big_M]

Yes, have been asked at check in for that, so was luckily prepared.

 

Have heard people have had to scramble to get permission so the consequence is you could be denied if you don't have it.

[FionaMG]

I got one for my nephew once when I was bringing him back to Portugal to spend a couple of weeks with us and although nobody asked to see it, it was worth getting it for the peace of mind.

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

[kerryincork]

In Ireland we can go to a Gardaí station and get them to sign it, the rules are set up for US travellers whose notary are different to what is used in UK/Ireland

[momofmab]

We were not asked for the paperwork on Oasis last April - but we had it just in case.

[Sbarr5]

Do make sure you get the correct notary signature, ie a solicitor. We are UK based and tried to sail from Southampton with a letter signed by a medical professional. It wasn't enough. The staff were extremely helpful but required further evidence from the child's parents before allowing us to board. This involved numerous phone calls, emails and signatures,  which was a stressful start to the cruise.

[Joseph2017China]

Yes, I was asked for a letter, and yes, they took the copy of the letter and I kept a copy.  They could be denied boarding. 

[boscobeans]

We sailed with our niece twice, once when she was 16 and another when she was 17. One on X and the second on Royal Caribbean. 

 

We did get her a passport and although we had the usual iron clad and notarized parental permission documents they just used her passport when we checked in.

 

 

[Tikka234]

We're taking my 17 year old grandson who has the same surname , getting a letter from parents saying he's has their permission to come with us and to seek medical care if needed,were only doing a 3 night to Bruges and Cherburg.

Do we need anything  else on the letter?

Thanks

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, Tikka234 said:

We're taking my 17 year old grandson who has the same surname , getting a letter from parents saying he's has their permission to come with us and to seek medical care if needed,were only doing a 3 night to Bruges and Cherburg.

Do we need anything  else on the letter?

Thanks

 

One more sentence that allows you to sign waivers for the child.

[boscobeans]

19 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

One more sentence that allows you to sign waivers for the child.

One more thing although it seems a little petty. We always include the dates of travel that this note covers and extend it a few days in case there may be any delays.

[livylotte]

8 hours ago, kerryincork said:

In Ireland we can go to a Gardaí station and get them to sign it, the rules are set up for US travellers whose notary are different to what is used in UK/Ireland

 

Yes, I was thinking having a notary is more for the US although I believe we do have notaries in the UK they aren't necessarily the same thing.

 

Does anyone know who would be the UK equivalent of a US notary? A solicitor?

[nanowerx]

Ive got a question that is a little different, but follows this question, so im dropping it here instead of starting a new topic:

 

Me, the wife and our 2 kids are sailing next month. One of the kids is my wifes bio kid, but my step-daughter, with a different last name than us. I am currently in the process of formally adopting her, but because of a backed-up court system, we won't get a court date to finalize everything till after the cruise. I do have a copy of the paperwork her bio dad filled out, signing over his rights to me, notarized by our lawyer.

 

She doesn't have a passport because we have been planning this adoption for almost 2 years now; so would her birth certificate, me and my wifes marriage license showing her maiden name (which is what shows on my daughters birth certificate) and the adoption paperwork signed by her bio dad be enough in my situation?

[Rogueperson]

3 hours ago, nanowerx said:

Ive got a question that is a little different, but follows this question, so im dropping it here instead of starting a new topic:

 

Me, the wife and our 2 kids are sailing next month. One of the kids is my wifes bio kid, but my step-daughter, with a different last name than us. I am currently in the process of formally adopting her, but because of a backed-up court system, we won't get a court date to finalize everything till after the cruise. I do have a copy of the paperwork her bio dad filled out, signing over his rights to me, notarized by our lawyer.

 

She doesn't have a passport because we have been planning this adoption for almost 2 years now; so would her birth certificate, me and my wifes marriage license showing her maiden name (which is what shows on my daughters birth certificate) and the adoption paperwork signed by her bio dad be enough in my situation?

Without seeing the document itself, I would say the notarized form signing over his rights to you is more powerful than just a notarized permission slip and should be sufficient.  If you could get both, you would be solid, but my impression is that form is more than sufficient.

[little britain]

7 hours ago, Tikka234 said:

We're taking my 17 year old grandson who has the same surname , getting a letter from parents saying he's has their permission to come with us and to seek medical care if needed,were only doing a 3 night to Bruges and Cherburg.

Do we need anything  else on the letter?

Thanks

It isn’t just “a letter”. Please use the proper form that there is a link to above, and please get it properly witnessed and stamped by a notary/solicitor.

 

Families are refused boarding every week in Southampton because they have not got this proper documentation. 

[brillohead]

I wasn't asked for the letter when traveling with my own son (without his father) or when traveling with my son's girlfriend (my son was 18 and the GF was 16 at the time). But I always had it.  

One thing I included on the letter that the GF's mother signed was both my name and my son's name as having permission to be guardian of the girl.  This way my son was able to take the GF off the ship without having me there (we had a short, early-morning stop in San Juan, and I wasn't going to go into port on that day).  They allow minors back on board without an adult, but they don't let them off the ship without an "in charge" adult.  (Security did give my son a hard time in San Juan at first, but he pointed out that he was 18yo and his name was on the permission slip so they had no right to deny them the trip into port.)  If you think there's a chance that your daughter and her friend might debark without you, make sure your daughter's name is on the form also, and that she has a copy with her when they're getting off in port.

 

[brillohead]

9 hours ago, nanowerx said:

Ive got a question that is a little different, but follows this question, so im dropping it here instead of starting a new topic:

 

Me, the wife and our 2 kids are sailing next month. One of the kids is my wifes bio kid, but my step-daughter, with a different last name than us. I am currently in the process of formally adopting her, but because of a backed-up court system, we won't get a court date to finalize everything till after the cruise. I do have a copy of the paperwork her bio dad filled out, signing over his rights to me, notarized by our lawyer.

 

She doesn't have a passport because we have been planning this adoption for almost 2 years now; so would her birth certificate, me and my wifes marriage license showing her maiden name (which is what shows on my daughters birth certificate) and the adoption paperwork signed by her bio dad be enough in my situation?

You should be fine with the documentation you have -- she's with her mother, and has proof that her mother is her mother.  The extra paperwork from bio-dad is icing on the cake.  

[livylotte]

I'm the OP.

 

Here's an update.

 

We took the obligatory notarised letter complete with red seal with us but weren't asked for it.  TBH the flustered agent at check in had already spent 15 mins trying to sort out a separate cash account for our young guest so I think perhaps she wanted to move on and check the next passengers in.  I don't think they were particularly concerned about our 17 year old guest.   TBH she looks more like 27 than 17 and definitely didn't look like a distressed kidnapped child.  However, no regrets in asking her parents to have this letter done..  It gave us peace of mind and at the end of the day RC could have asked for it.   If I'd been a betting woman I'd have risked it - but I'm not.   So I'm happy we did the right thing, even if they didn't ask for it.

Edited June 11, 2019 by livylotte

[ilovetotravel1977]

But if she had needed medical attention, wouldn't you still need a letter of permission for the doctor to take care of emergencies?

[brillohead]

3 hours ago, ilovetotravel1977 said:

But if she had needed medical attention, wouldn't you still need a letter of permission for the doctor to take care of emergencies?

Emergency care will always be provided.  Non-urgent care would require parental permission.

But they took the letter and had the necessary permission, so it was a moot point.

[Truluv]

We were asked for the letter when bringing along a friend on a 16th birthday cruise.  When preparing the letter that authorized us to take the teenager on the cruise, I added a paragraph that authorized us to obtain emergency medical treatment for the boy if necessary as an additional precaution.  I had two copies made & notarized at the same time so I would have it in my records if the ship or someone else took a copy.